WWE license sparks new Jakks/THQ suit

By Tom Magrino, GameSpotPosted Jul 1, 2009 10:28 am PT

Publisher petitions court following toy maker's one-sided decision to renew rights to make wrestling games for five more years.

For years, THQ, Jakks Pacific, and World Wrestling Entertainment have faced off in a Triple Threat match over the WWE vs. SmackDown franchise. WWE has sued the THQ-Jakks joint venture twice seeking to have its licensing agreement terminated, all while the game and toy companies have been locked in their own dispute over royalty rates on WWE-branded games.

In this match, there are no rules.

With the current WWE game licensing deal set to expire on December 31, 2009, Jakks said today that it would be exercising its right to renew the contract to make the games for five more years, through December 31, 2014. As could be expected given the license's turbulent history, the move has sparked a new round of legal posturing. THQ has responded by filing a suit claiming that it had not yet decided whether it would renew the WWE license.

In its filing with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, THQ is seeking declaratory judgment on three issues. First, THQ wants a determination that Jakks cannot unilaterally renew the WWE license as part of the terms of its joint venture with the toy maker. Second, THQ claims it is not obligated to consent to a renewal of the WWE license. And third, the restriction prohibiting THQ from publishing any wrestling-based game without Jakks for at least a year after the termination of the WWE agreement can not be enforced under California law, the publisher claims.

Jakks further noted that it has entered into arbitration proceedings with THQ related to this and other issues concerning the WWE license. THQ had not responded to requests for comment on the suit or Jakks' renewal announcement as of press time.

The WWE license contributes heavily to THQ's bottom line, with about 25 percent of the publisher's revenues for calendar year 2007 being derived from the wrestling franchise. However, the series saw a substantial drop-off in popularity in 2008. As part of THQ's grim fiscal year-end report in May, CFO Paul Pucino noted that WWE franchise sales slipped 24 percent year-over-year. Still, WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2009 shipped more than 4.5 million units during the period.

123 Comments

  • zidaneq8

    Posted Sep 13, 2009 2:23 am PT

    do you think The Undertaker will defeat CM punk ?

  • craigofadown

    Posted Jul 13, 2009 12:21 pm PT

    THQ are making average games at the moment, If they get to make them for another 5 years, they seriously have to improve the game, because there has been little improvement over the past years.

  • Kollawona

    Posted Jul 9, 2009 3:12 pm PT

    Good THQ has failed making Smackdown games for the past 5 years now. Finally they get what they asked for. The 360 didn't even get an update for Smackdown vs Raw 2009. Every choice a consequence and it looks like its finally the end.

  • DHH34

    Posted Jul 8, 2009 5:17 am PT

    damn, expect a cancellation or delay on this one

  • MadGamer132

    Posted Jul 7, 2009 12:31 pm PT

    hey if thq doesn't wan t to renew with jakks thats fine. or a pub had to get the liencse

  • Hayden10Noah

    Posted Jul 4, 2009 8:02 am PT

    i just got smackdown vs. raw 09 for the wii, and it's pretty good, but we do need change in wwe games.

  • Tranceplant

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 10:59 pm PT

    Noooooo!! Jakks... leave WWE ALONE!!
    We need CHANGE in the wrestling games.
    It would be about time that the SDvsRaw games changes of style or of gameplay because i'm getting tired of it!!
    I wish games could be good as they were when AKI made them...
    Why can't Vince McMahon tell this to Jakks?..... YOU'RE FIIIIIIREEEEDD!!!!!!!

  • Quill

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 9:46 pm PT

    What are you talking about extreme 124? Vince must be depressed? Vince is an idiot. He used to be cool in the days of Hulk Hogan and Rowdy Piper. Now he is just a stupid grinch who makes very bad business desicions. I will say about the game though, I wasn't too crazy about 09. I missed the season mode with story lines. And I will also say that the game needs more branching story lines. Career mode dosen't work for me. Other than that the game is still a wonderful franchise. And by the way, at the rate vince is going in his stupid desicion making and sometimes very horrible story lines on the show I will eventually drop watching raw or smackdown and completely convert to TNA! It's now one of the better shows.

  • Jayzilla69

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 9:32 pm PT

    I still find the wrestling games fun as i am a huge wrestling fan but the thing they need to work on is the career mode where is the CAW season!?

  • YoJim8obaJoe

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 7:59 pm PT

    im not surprised sales have dropped,the games have been nearly identical since the ps1 days

  • Extreme124

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 12:47 pm PT

    The caption "In this match, there are no rules." Is lame as ever!

    Thank god, THQ drop the license they are offal at wrestling games. And having to remove every wrestler that's released from the game is annoying.

    Vince must be so depressed that he feels the need to do this. Like how he forced them to make Stephanie super slim. And he destroyed SVR 08 no actually the developers did. I think they should only work on UFC games

    If they buy TNA I will cry they will destroy it and might try use the 15+ year engine that they use for WWE games. Also Corey is stupid he hypes games like crazy and 90% is all lies. If he took a lie detector test when being interviewed about the game it would go red every 5sec's.

    He would need to say "This feature would be good" not "we are making this the best wrestling game ever" he is an epic failure.

  • robayeit

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 12:39 pm PT

    dkidfrmdbx I completely agree with u, I even still play here comes the pain. THQ have gone soft with the title, its boring lame and nothing knew. I dont like any games from THQ I dont have anyother THQ game, I tried to play warhammer, BORING. and the comments on vince, all I can say is TNA TNA TNA TNA

  • iamnessie

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 10:43 am PT

    This is what happened with the Tony Hawk games.
    i don't like UFC at all, but they have a really good game. Why can't the WWE have a game like that, since it's from the same company, just not the same developer?

  • Gamelova08

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 10:35 am PT

    WWE games WERE fun? So they aren't fun anymore? Gosh, am I surprised

  • EmptySki

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 10:33 am PT

    They need a fresh wrestling game experience. The past 4 or 5 years have been the same thing.

  • peetowser

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 10:27 am PT

    The reason they are seeing their sales is 1-their game franchise has grown stale and they can't make a wrestling game wrestling fans enjoy.

    I think back to Acclaim's games on the PS1 when I think about good wrestling games. Those games had as good a create-a-wrestler as any THQ game ever had, with move lists you could tailor make to your wishes.

    Instead of relying on twitch counters and 12 moves /character, the Acclaim games would let you dominate on your opponent when you felt like it and you could play that game like real "fake" wrestling; your turn on offense, my turn on offense, then end it. Everybody knows wrestling is fake, so why make your wrestling games an exercice in frustration THQ??? When I pick Taker and some bottom-feeder jobber reverses everything I throw at him, I lose patience and enjoyment of something that is supposed to be entertaining.

    It's a sad realization when the only thing lacking from a ten year old game compared to your game is more polygons and shaders. I play WWF Warzone or Attitude instead and still enjoy it a lot more than any clumsy, slow-paced, badly clipping, slow-loading, NHL/Madden formula-following THQ try at making a game...

  • rando22

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 10:14 am PT

    THQ and Yuke's just needs to give up on WWE and concentrate on UFC

  • another_drew

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 9:37 am PT

    Wrestling games are the bane of any sports simulator. They are just plain bad. What's the point of releasing one every year. An expanded roster by one person, come on hardly worth another $60.

  • Bladefist

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 9:29 am PT

    This has me sad. If they split then WWE would have to go back to AKI, which would be...AWWWWWWWESOME! I'm crossing my fingers.

  • faceman420

    Posted Jul 2, 2009 9:19 am PT

    Never liked the Smackdown series or any series for that matter as much as the N64 WWF games. No Mercy is still the reigning champ of wrestling games.

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